The Heartless Cannot Love
by Phenomenatika
Summary: Ch1 redone. Kirin is a lone Fighter. Rinke cannot find the one who shares his name. One Heartless, one Dearest. If different names worked for Soubi and Ritsuka, can this couple overcome the same? Same universe. New storyline. Canon charas later.
1. Heartless

AN: Ok. So I fixed this first chapter and kicked Zero out. Why? Because it was just too random and weird and I didn't like it. Hopefully it will be. um. less bad now.

Soooo. What comes next? Oh! A disclaimer!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Loveless. Oh, pooh.

And a warning!

WARNING: There's shounen-ai and maybe yaoi in later chapters, so consider yourself warned. Besides, it's a LOVELESS fanfic, what else would it have? Heterosexual fluffies? Give me a break.

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"HEARTLESS: we who share this name have no heart! We show no mercy, brook no pain!" Aya-kun and I clasped right hands and pressed the name inscribed into the inside of our arms together as the battle system initiated. The other couple looked at us with passing interest. They were both female, high-school students. Both with ears. Again I felt that woozy lightheaded sensation when I realized that I no longer had mine. That was why we were here, after all. Aya wanted to see if the loss of our ears meanta stronger bond. He literally pounced on another fighting couple just to try me out. I kind of felt like a new car. Or at least an upgraded browser.

"We are BEREFT!" said the other Fighter. Her bleached hair whipped around her. "Our attack will leave you with nothing but grief and emptiness!" I really didn't know where these names came from. It was like someone put a bunch of really depressing adjectives and a few cute and cuddly ones and one or two sexy ones in a large fedora and at random drew them out. I didn't even WANT to know how they ended up on the skin of Sentoki and Sacrifice alike.

I ran a hand through my light lavender hair, and felt a bit empty when my fingers went right through where my ears used to be. I turned to smile at Aya. He nodded. I faced the opponent again. "Bring it on, little girl."

She glared at me, as was expected. "Worthless adults!" she yelled. "Magma! Erupt from the ground and cover them in liquid fire!" The ground beneath us shook and split as a spray of lava exploded outwards.

"COUNTERATTACK!" ordered Aya. Heartless didn't deal with defense. Defense was useless.

"A tidal wave," I whispered, closing my eyes. "The cool water stops the flow of lava and the pressure builds beneath the ground until it explodes, destroying the source..." I opened my hand and torrents of water caught the droplets of lava flying through the air, forcing it back. "The formation of obsidian shards, beautifully sharp and black, rain upon the enemy!"

"Defense!" said the other girl. "Deflect!" Most of the volcanic glass glanced off and fell to the ground.

"Sorry, little girl," I smiled. "Too many." A few shards made it past the barrier and sliced open the skin of her Sacrifice. The turquoise-haired girl cried out and held her bleeding arm. "Restraint!" A glowing chain manacled the Sacrifice. "And it would be a bad idea to forget the explosion brewing beneath you. Maybe you should use some defense."

The other Fighter scowled. "Vents in the earth! Let loose the pressure building beneath! GEYSER!" Clouds of hot steam shot out of the ground. I swore as Aya took damage. I opened my left palm again, closing my eyes to visualize my words.

"When a hot front is confronted by cold air, it forms a TROPICAL STORM. Winds of 120 kilometers per hour, sheets of stinging rain, lightning at 10,000 volts!" My eyes snapped open and I released the storm upon them.

"DEFENSE!" yelled the other Sentouki. "DEFENSE, DEFENSE! We are in the eye of the storm! ZERO DAMAGE!" I gritted my teeth and chanced a look back at Aya. He scowled darkly at me and I winced. I should know better than to use an attack that has loopholes. That's what Heartless exploits, after all. We shouldn't take on our enemies' weaknesses.

"You WILL win, Heartless," said Aya.

"Needles of ice!" The attack came too soon and I was caught off guard. Aya had suffered two hits before I came up with a defense.

"NO! The air is too warm! The ice melts, it is only light rain!"

"You wish! There is sulfur in the atmosphere and it forms ACID RAIN!" Aya made a small, nearly inaudible noise as he was pelted with burning droplets. I faltered. My Sacrifice was getting hurt. I should be protecting him. He shouldn't be getting hurt.

"A strong wind to blow the rain clouds away!" I said desperately, only a weak wisp of a breeze coming to my aid. My eyes were wide open, I couldn't concentrate. Aya was getting hurt.

"STOP USING DEFENSE, DAMMIT!" Aya spat. He roughly spun me around, the glowing chains clinking between us. He was an inch shorter than I, but when angry, he seemed to tower over me. He glared into my eyes. "We are HEARTLESS," he said in a hoarse whisper. "No mercy, no pain. We do not do defense in this team. We turn attacks. Do you understand?"

I swallowed, my throat dry. He continued, his eyes never leaving mine. "I thought that after I took away your ears you would understand, grow up a little," he scoffed. "Don't you get it? We are here to win. We can't walk away with a victory with you trying to protect me all the time!"

My brows furrowed, I touched his arm. He stiffened but said nothing. "But if I don't protect you," I whispered, "you will get hurt. What if you..."

"I wouldn't get hurt as much if you would just hurry up and finish them off!" Aya snapped, eyes blazing. I winced. Aya took a deep breath and spoke again, his voice softer. "Kirin, Kirin," he ran his hands through my hair where the ears had once been. "You're losing concentration. You need to think with your mind, not your heart. It's okay if I get hurt, if it means we win faster. Heartless, remember? I'm strong. I'm not afraid of bleeding a little. Okay?" I breathed shakily, nodding yes. "Be strong." His grip around me suddenly tightened and he drew me closer towards him. My lips met his in a kiss. It was kind of like recharging a battery, come to think of it. Only, you know, hotter and smexier and more fan-service-y. Not that I have fans. Yet. His tongue slipped into my mouth. Mmmm...

"Hello?" the voice of the Zero Sacrifice broke through our mid-battle recharge. "Are you guys planning to make out for the rest of this fight? Miko, finish them off. They're starting to bother me, and I'm hungry."

Aya pulled away from me and smiled grimly. "Eliminate them, Kirin," he said as I turned back to the enemy and closed my eyes. I went back into pattern breathing and opened my left hand.

"Miko, is it?" I said, smiling without opening my eyes. "And your sacrifice is Rika. Have you heard of a certain type of plant that only grows in the tropical rain forest? It feeds off the acidity in the ground, becuase there isn't much else, you see, with all the rain. It has a most peculiar special ability that allows it to drain the blood and energy out of its prey by attaching rootlets into the bloodstream..." I sniffed the air delicately. "Ahh, how nice it was of you to provide the perfect needs for the LEECH VINE. Feed my Sacrifice with the enemy's energy!"

Have I ever mentioned that I really like to explain every attack that I use and its natural factors before I use it? I think that it's a good way to spread the information around, you know? But Aya-kun thinks that it's a waste of time, and it bugs the enemy, usually. Well, the latter is probably a good thing. Anyway: the vine.

The vines were quick to coil around the girl's ankles and snaked up her legs. The girl did not even try to restrain her scream. Pain can put any one out of their mind, but then again, so can things like lust, revulsion, and fear. There is no pain associated with the feeding of the leech vine, but I believe that it is hard to be fearless when one witnesses thick glossy vines sapping blood right out of your veins.

The Fighter was frightened as well, and panicked. "No! Rika! FIRE! An inferno! A holocaust of flame to burn and sever the vines!"

"Useless," I whispered with a smile. "The vines are flame retardant. They will not catch fire. You're only burning your Sacrifice, Miko."

"RIKA!" the Fighter looked close to panicking. I heard the ground breaking behind me and knew that the vines were healing Aya. "Heavy rains! Quench the fire!"

"Lightning," I pressed on relentlessly. "Ten thousand--"

"STOP!" screamed the other Fighter, cradling the blonde in her arms. "Please, stop!"

"Keep going," ordered Aya from behind me. I turned to smile brightly at him, which caught him off guard, I think.

"I think I'm done with attacking," I said suddenly. The two girls looked at me in confusion. I felt Aya bristle behind me, then his hand clamped down on my shoulder.

"Are you defying an order from your Sacrifice?" he demanded.

"I'm sorry, Master," I said, looking at him with sad green eyes. "But... I'm not in the mood."

"Not in the... WHAT?" he yelled. "Kirin, are you out of your mind?"

"Ne, Aya-kun," I said, tilting my head to the side. "You shouldn't move so much, the vines are having trouble healing you." Aya opened his mouth, then closed it and looked helplessly at me. I smiled and dropped a quick kiss on his lips, then spun around in mock surprise. "Oh, look!" I said. "It's the other side of the hurricane I formed! It looks like the eye was only so big, ne, Miko-san?" The fierce winds combined with the heavy torrential rain finished them. The chains that restrained Aya and myself shattered and I hugged my Sacrifice. "That was pretty cool, eh?"

We watched the pair stagger away in the dying light. Aya put a hand on my shoulder. I turned partway to look at him. His moderate injuries had been mostly healed from what I had sapped from the other Sacrifice. "That was Heartless," he said with satisfaction. "You have done well, my Fighter." I smiled shyly and blushed at his praise. Such a compliment was rare. "A quick victory, finally. And against the notorious BEREFT." He reached up to stroke my hair again. "Perhaps losing your ears has made you stronger." My smile faded and I watched him worriedly.

"Aya-kun," I said quietly. "About last night..."

He frowned thoughtfully. "Yes? Do you think that repeating the process would make you stronger still?"

I winced at his clinical, off-handed wording of the intimacies that had led to the loss of my ears and tail. "N-no, that's not what I meant," I said timidly. "Last night... it..." I swallowed. Aya's gaze on me intensified, as if trying to fathom what I would say next. I closed my eyes. "It hurt. You should really find some better lubrication." I risked a look at my partner. Would he be angry with me, as he often was? Would he call me weak again, or stupid, or childish? I blinked.

Aya was smiling at me. His topaz eyes were soft as his touch as his fingers caressed the side of my face. "I'm sorry," he said gently, "that I hurt you." I was stunned by his words. Aya was never sorry for what he did, even if it hurt me. Especially if it hurt me. He was one who believed in strict discipline and punishment. I kind of wished that he would lighten up once in a while. I mean, whips are sexy, but hey, I don't like the scars they leave. I looked at him in confusion. "All that I do, I do for Heartless," he reminded me, pulling me closer to his body, his warmth.

"All that I do, I do for Aya-kun," I replied, letting him kiss me. There in the fields, under the quiet sentinel of the tall metal towers, I submitted to him once again. (Ummm. that's a eupemism for "we went at it like cuddly bunny rabbits in lurve. really, really hot bishounen love. in the fields. surrounded by pretty grasses and flowers.) This time he was far gentler, his touches more human, his voice less cold. He also had some really nice honey lotion on hand. We finally lay side by side, exhausted, looking up at the stars that glittered faintly. I watched him, my redheaded partner, so calm in the night wind beside me. I bit my lip and rolled over a little towards him. My hand trembled as I reached an arm across his chest to hold him. He usually didn't let me initiate touch, so I was fully expecting to be reprimanded. Instead, he just turned and looked at me curiously. Feeling a bit braver, I moved my hand to his face and ran a thumb over the smooth skin there.

"I... I love you, Aya-kun," I whispered. I had told Aya this the first day I found him, the only other Heartless in the entire world.

A shadow crossed his face and I knew that I had gone too far. "Don't be stupid," he murmured, eyes downcast. "The Heartless do not love." He turned his face away from me, although he did not get up and simply walk away, as he often did whenever I displeased him with my emotions. I opened my mouth to protest, to say that I DID love him, and that Heartless was only a name, and wasn't I more than a name? But then I thought better of it. Aya-kun is very old hat like that.

I fell asleep on the car ride home. I was groggily half-aware that the car had stopped and that Aya had opened the door on my side. I feigned sleep as he unbuckled my belt and carried me out of the car, into the building, up to our apartment, into the bedroom, and finally depositing me on the bed. He ran his fingers over my right arm, tracing the letters that spelled the name that had been inscribed there, that had been decided for me. For the both of us.

"Heartless. Hn." My eyes were closed, but I could feel his eyes searching my face. "Do we love? Can we love, without hearts?" I heard him kneeling down beside me, then felt him press his lips against mine in a soft kiss. "Kirin... I would love you if I only knew how... and I am sorry I hurt you." He stood and left the room. As I drifted off to sleep, I allowed myself a small smile. Someday, I would teach my Sacrifice how to love. If not tomorrow, then the day after tomorrow. We had time. We had each other. And Aya cared for me. He did... I had not been so happy in a long time and dreamed of mad bunny sex the whole night.

As it turned out, I was wrong. About having time. About having each other. Aya was killed the very next morning. Maybe he did care for me. Maybe he even wanted to love me. He just didn't know how...

... and now, he never would.

The realization was a cause for angst. A lot of angst. Horrible amounts of it. Hang on. I'll stop cracking jokes for a moment and tell how it was...  
Aya was my Sacrifice. My Master. Without him, I was lost. Truly, deeply lost.

The days after Aya's murder passed like a haze. I was immobilized by shock. Grief. Weeks and months and years crawled by, every sunrise felt like an extra day, like extra scoops of cheap ice cream long after your tongue has gone dead and numb and the inside of your belly hurts and feels like it's rotting from the inside out. I didn't know who killed Aya, or who could possibly tell me anything about it. All I was able to do was to stand outside the funeral, watching his family and friends mourn over his passing. Wreaths of white flowers pale as death against the black railings they hung upon. I knew that I would be unwelcome, knew that they all blamed Aya's death on me. Even I blamed myself for what happened to my once-partner, once-lover, once-Heartless-other.

My absense of a heart ached.

Slowly, however, I managed to forget. Everything. The scars Aya had given me during discipline never fully disappeared but even they faded until they were nothing but shadows of memories. The brand that was my name was always covered up by my clothing. I avoided wearing anything that would expose my arm and finally hid my name with cloth bandages. What upset me the most was that I had no document, no mark, no proof of the parts of Aya that had comforted me the most. His kind voice when he was pleased with my progress. His soft touch when he had apologised for hurting me. The long, deep kisses which left my pulse rushing through my body, reminding me that though Heartless, I was indeed alive.

All I had were remnants of scars. And strangled wispy nightmares. It was like a half of me had suddenly gone missing, and what was left of me wanted to rejoin it, but couldn't find a way to. I could not forgive myself for being alive when my Sacrifice was dead. It took enormous effort to survive every day that I outlived Aya by.

I did not take my life. Suicide is the worst way to die. Aya said so. He told me that suicide is detestable because it is only for those who can no longer face life. He said it was like throwing away the single most valuable thing that you had been given for free. For the first year, I seriously considered disposing of this unwanted gift. But when I began to forget, began to lock away the parts of me that grieved and felt, this belief of Aya's was the only thing that refused to leave me. It was the only part of Aya that stayed wholly with me, along with the sternness of his voice when he explained it, and his strong grip on my shoulders along with the look in his eyes. It was the only thing that kept me going.

To pass the time, two years after Aya died, I started to battle again. It was true that I had no Sacrifice to take the damage for me, and that the absense of such a partner halved my powers, but I saw no reason for another to hurt for my mistakes. I seldom lost, using the ruthless technique that Aya had drilled into me. Sometimes I would willingly let my guard down so that they could inflict damage upon me, so that I could suffer what Aya had suffered when my counterattacks were not thorough enough, my spells too weak. After a while, I stopped losing altogether, although I did prefer to drag some battles longer than they needed to be, just to feel the pain, just to see the fear, just to lose myself in the rush of adrenaline and, most importantly, to stop thinking. To stop trying to recover the memories that I locked away. To just stop feeling any sort of emotion.

I had become truly Heartless.

And oh, did that suck. I tried flirting again. Apparently the lone Fighter status makes you very popular with the others in the fighting circle. Makes you sort of an antihero. So I had a few boyfriends... cute guys I went out to dinner with, took home, and had a good old snuggling time with... But it just never... happened. I could never bear to go all the way with any of them. Somewhere, in some part of my mind that I had locked away, I was still Aya's. I would always be Aya's. I think the guys I went out with understood that, too. They never pressed me. It frustrated me. Why I was still alive. I should have been... searching for Aya's killer or... or something...

But I didn't. Instead I continued to casually make passes at anyone who looked interesting to me, anyone who could take my mind off of things between battles, betwen classes and responsibilities. I ended up leaving them all eventually. For a while they called me Heartbreaker, instead of Heartless. It was sort of romantic, in some weird twisted way, but I preferred my real name. I wonder what any of the boys I'd dated felt towards me. I mostly chose those younger than I. Did they see me as an idol? Did they worship me? Or did they fear me? And sometimes, at night, with my arms around some sleeping boy who still has his ears and his clothes on, I wonder:

Does he love me? Because I don't want to break another heart. It was messy and things felt bad afterwards. It wasn't that I wanted to use any of the boys I went out with. It was just that... For me, it was only passive flirting. I couldn't... I couldn't love any of them. Aya's words always haunted me.

The Heartless do not love, cannot love.

Well, then I met Rinke. And as they say, Everything changed.

Ok. Not everything. But something did.

--

AN: Ok, so I only rewrote like MORE THAN HALF OF IT. I think I'll repost this story under humor, seeing as how that's a better genre for me to work in. I hope changing the opponent team to a group that has nothing to do with Zero is vastly better, ne? It sounded like bishounen mary-sue when I was reading it over and I thought I was going to kill myself.

I really enjoyed writing this (ahhhh, the rush of fanfiction!), but I don't know if you guys like it as much as I do! So please leave a comment (or two, or three!) by clicking that blue shiny button down there! Critiques are welcome, but so are just general "wheeeeee! fanfic!" reviews. I love reviews! C'mon, make me a happy fox!


	2. Restless

AN: Wow! Two chapters in one day! I'm on a roll! Well. Some random fluff in this chapter, including a new character. Yay!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Loveless. Stop rubbing it in.

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It was near Christmas time. It was mostly slush out in the streets; dirt-marred puddles of melting dreams. I had gone nearly two months without a battle, and it was driving me mad. Two months of sickening peace, of college classes, of my roommate, of life. The normality was awkward, I didn't like having a schedule, didn't like routine, or habit. These were things that made you lazy. I took special pains to find different ways to get to class every day, counted exact change and different combinations of bills and coins that could form that exact change. I would spend large amounts of time in clothing deparments, trying to make up outfits out of all the clothes and ending up purchasing a few completely matchless items so that I could take them home and puzzle over them more. Anything to keep my mind busy. Anything to prevent me from getting used to one way of doing things. I didn't want to lose focus and think about anything other than what was at hand. I didn't want, didn't need to remember... that man. I refused to recall his name, his face, or what he was to me. He lingered in the shadows, and I refused to shine a light on the name carved onto his skin, right over his--   
Like I said, I was getting restless. I was afraid of getting extra time, or giving my mind any slack. Spell battles were rewarding in that they stimulated my mind... and I never lost. I had intended to challenge Beloved, as everyone within the fighting scope knew that they were the strongest. I had not lost in a while and was willing to try out Aoyagi Seimei and Agatsuma Soubi... but then I realized that, while in my stupor after A-- his death, Seimei had also been murdered. I considered pursuing the case... could Seimei and... he... could they have been killed by the same people? I knew nothing. But anyway, Beloved was no longer a team to be challenged. I wondered if I could have found Agatsuma-san, having had a casual acquaintance with him in Fighting School, but I never did find him... while I still cared, that is. Now that I've shut down all the parts of me that still remember... him... I might have passed Agatsuma-san a few times in the subway station without really paying heed to it.

I wondered why I had not been able to find any parties to challenge for so long. Surely they weren't afraid of a lone Fighter? Perhaps they were ashamed that so many groups had lost to me already. Given, the ones I had taken on were mostly of the middle-ranking, no one who had a big reputation. More illustrious duos had refused to fight me two to one, something about it being against the rules and unfair. I protested that it was only unfair to me, and also that I didn't mind it at all. Still, most strong teams would not fight me as long as I was lacking a Sacrifice to tell me what to do. But I didn't need a Sacrifice, I wanted to tell them, I KNOW what to do, Aya-kun...

Aya-kun tells me. I hear his voice, I do. Whenever I battle, it's like he's there again. I don't really pay much attention to it, because like I said, I fight because it helps me forget but... I'm always surprised when I finish a battle and I turn to see no one behind me. But the tactics are all his. The orders are Aya's orders. I have a Sacrifice, I want to tell them. Aya is my Sacrifice. Was. I don't know what to tell them any more, only that I don't mind their advantage over me, only that they should know better than to take it easy on me.

At a lack for anything else to do to kill the time, I did a bit of bus hopping, hit the shops and bought a pair of thick woolen socks. These I gave to an old shivering man who slumped beside a wall of the subway station. He'd been there since last summer, and I saw that he still has the blanket that I gave him the previous winter. He looked up at me through his wrinkled face and thanked me. I spared him a smile and left. I stopped at a Haagen Dazs ice cream shop and asked to purchase a pint of plain vanilla ice cream. I reached for my wallet, only to find, to my amusement, that someone had cut through my back pocket while I was on the bus and had effectively robbed me of my money.

I smiled sheepishly at the cashier. "I'm sorry, Miss. It seems that I've been robbed."

"Oh..." she blinked. "Well, um. I'm sorry, but if you can't pay for it..."

"I know. I'll just have to come back for it later," I sighed, looking at the ice cream. It would have to wait for tomorrow.

A crisp five-hundred yen bill presented itself to her. I raised an eyebrow. This was... different. I followed the bill to the hand that was holding it, up an arm, across a broad shoulder and a graceful neck to the face of a boy, his cat-ears still intact. "Will this be enough?" he asked cheerfully.

"Er... it's 540 for a pint, sir. Will you be paying for it?" asked the cashier.

"Yup!" The boy fished around in his wallet and came up with a hundred yen. I closed his hand around it. He looked at me, puzzled, and I shook my head.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked him.

"Random acts of kindness!" he said cheerfully as he tugged his fist away and gave the cashier his money. He looked up at me through amber colored eyes that shone beneath midnight blue bangs and grinned at me. "I saw what you did for that old man back there. I gave him some money, too." He folded his hands behind him. "I thought it was really cool, you know? Most people these days are too self-absorbed to notice that anyone else needs help. And, well, since you seem to have been robbed, I thought I'd help you out!"

"Oh... uh. Thanks," I said. The cashier gave the boy his change and I left the shop to go buy a ticket for the subway, only... I swore under my breath. "Looks like I'll be walking home today," I muttered to myself.

"Huh?" the boy appeared at my elbow again. I involuntarily stepped away from him. Was this guy stalking me or something? "Oh, do you need ticket fare? I could buy a ticket for you, if that's what you need."

"Umm." I really didn't want to push the generosity of this kid, but, numb and masochistic though I was, I really didn't want to walk through ten miles of slush just to get home. Had it been any other season, I might have given it more thought. "Well, if it's not too much trouble..."

"Not at all!" reassured the boy as he ran off to buy us subway tokens. He returned a short while later and as we were taking trains in the same direction, we boarded the very next one and sat down in the relatively empty car. My stop was a good bit away, so I pried open the carton of ice cream and dug a silver spoon out of my bag. I was halfway through my third bite when I noticed the boy staring at me.

"Uh. Would you like some?" I offered. After all, it was his money that had bought it. He was probably entitled to some compensation for his generosity. His eyes sparkled at the prospect of ice cream.

"...Yes, but I'm not allowed to have any," he said sadly. "I'm on a diet, you see."

I raised an eyebrow. "What for? You're in really good shape!"

He blushed and shook his head. "I have to watch my weight; I'm a dancer."

I thought about it for a while. "I guess you can't have ice cream then."

"Yeah," he said wistfully.

"Too bad," I sympathized. I put a spoonful into my mouth, letting it melt into sweet vanilla froth before I swallowed. I felt his eyes still on me, and a surprisingly devilish thought crossed my mind. "It's really good," I said, my voice dropping an octave, my eyes locked on his as I licked my lips. I watched his face turn crimson.

"Y-yeah?" he squeaked, turning even redder as I wrapped my lips around the spoon, sucking it clean. I couldn't help it. This kid was really cute. A part of him reminded me of... no one. I quickly smiled to cover up my hesitation.

"It's so sweet and creamy..." I whispered, leaning closer to him. "Utterly delectable." How adorable. I was seducing him with a commercial. And, by the looks of it, it was working.

"I... I guess a... bite... w-wouldn't hurt," he suggested shyly.

"No, I'm sure a bite would be quite... pleasurable..." I raised a spoonful to his mouth and he took it, slowly, keeping his eyes glued to mine. I shivered at the look in the amber eyes. I hadn't done this in a long while...

"I cannot believe you convinced me to finish a whole pint with you!" he exclaimed, laughing a bit guiltily. "I'm going to gain so much weight from that!" The carton was sitting inside the wastebin, and the spoon back in my bag. There were still a couple of minutes before we arrived at my stop.

"It was good ice cream, though," I said with a smirk and a sidelong glance at him.

He caught my eye and looked away, blushing fiercely. "Wha'd you... do that for?" he asked.

"Hmm?" I pretended not to know what he was talking about.

"Y-you... You know," he said, his face darkening even further. "With the... ice cream... " I laughed and tugged on a lock of purple hair in thought.

"I don't know, I've just been... bored lately." He looked at me curiously. "And it's... fun, with you. Most kids who still have their ears don't trust adults like me." He beamed at the praise and his ears twitched happily. "And thank you again for helping me pay for the ice cream and the train ticket."

"Oh, that's no problem at all," he brushed it off with a smile. "... Bored, huh?" I nodded. When I didn't elaborate, he seemed to get a determined look on his face. "You're a... you're a Sentouki, aren't you? You're a Fighter?" I looked at him in surprise.

"Well... yes. How did you know?" I didn't recall saying anything about being a Fighter, or hinting at spell battles. How could he possibly know what I was? To my surprise, he grabbed my bandaged arm with a long-fingered hand. I stiffened, that's where...

"Your name is here, isn't it?" he said softly, closing his eyes. "At first I thought your arm was bandaged because you hurt it... but when you opened that carton of ice cream, you used your right arm. You didn't favor it at all! So I realized... you must be hiding your name under here, right?" He opened his eyes and looked at me inquiringly, as if he really wanted to see that I understood. I smiled and nodded. He looked... strange. Like he was gathering up the nerve to ask me something. Then he looked at me, REALLY looked at me, and asked, "Are you Dearest?"

I blinked. "I... uh," I cleared my throat, "no. I'm sorry." He looked crestfallen, and I felt truly sorry for him.

"Have you... heard of such a Fighter?" he asked hopelessly. "A Sentouki named Dearest?" Again I answered negative and he sighed.

"Who is Dearest?" I asked. I had never heard this name before, and I had heard my share of true names.

He sighed. "I am. Well. The Sacrifice, anyway. I've been searching for my Fighter for two years now... but no one has heard of him. Even with this gift of mine, identifying Fighters, I can't find him." He looked pretty miserable, so I squeezed his shoulder.

"Hey," I said. "Don't be like that. At least you know that your partner's alive, right?"

His face scrunched up in thought. "Well, actually," he said, "I don't know, that's just the thing. What if he... or she... was in an accident and died early on? Then I'll never find my Fighter."

"Why the rush?" I asked gently. "Don't be in a hurry to enter the world of spell battles. It's a dangerous pasttime." I poked him on the nose. "Especially for cute little Sacrifices like yourself." He stuck his tongue out at me, then smiled.

"Your Sacrifice must be very lucky to have such a cool Fighter by his side," he said enviously. "I bet you protect him with your life, huh?" I sucked in a breath and held it, counting to ten and patiently repairing the hole in my mental shield. He immediately sensed that something was wrong and studied my face, amber eyes searching for a clue as to what was amiss. "I'm sorry," he said. "Did I say something wrong?"

"Ah... no," I reassured him. "It's just that my... my Sacrifice died. A long time ago. He was murdered." I smiled valiantly, willing my control to not slip.

"Oh... I'm so sorry," he said with genuine regret. "I had no idea. I was being stupid." He suddenly looked up at me again. "Wait... so are you... Agatsumi Soubi? Beloved's Fighter?"

"No," said a cold male voice. "He's Tsukihiro Kirin. The Heartless Sentouki." We both looked up at the newcomer. It turned out that there were two of them with us in the cart, both male. One of them was an ice blond, the other with dusty brown hair and green eyes. "The infamous lone Fighter, ne?" the blond spoke. "Took down my sister's team a while back. We're here to reclaim our honor."

I snorted. "You're that ice queen's onii-chan? Then you should do more to help her train. That girl couldn't cast a proper attack spell if it was carved into the inside of her eyelids." The blond growled.

"Do not insult Usagi!" he ordered. I scowled. No one was allowed to order me. No one. "You will follow us off when we reach the next station. There, we will battle you, Heartless."

As we waited to arrive at the next station, the boy tugged on my sleeve. "Lone Fighter?" he asked. "Don't you need a Sacrifice to be stronger?" Upon seeing my expression, he sighed. "These guys are known as Seamless. I've heard of them; they're pretty tough. Are you sure you don't need any help?" I looked at him in confusion, then realized what he was implying. I laughed.

"What, are you offering your services, Dearest?" I asked. He looked wounded by my laughter, so I ruffled his hair. "I'm not doubting your ability," I told him. "I'm just concerned for your safety. You don't look a day over seventeen, at most. What if you get hurt?" He scowled and opened his mouth to protest. "No," I said adamantly, softly. Seamless was leering at us. "I've only just met you, I'm not putting you in danger. And besides, I'm not your Fighter." He looked irresolute. "You've done enough for me today, you should go home," I said gently.

He looked away, defeated. "Can I... can I at least have your phone number?" he said timidly. I grinned.

"Of course." I pulled out my cellphone and we swapped numbers. The train slowed to a stop and I stood to leave. I turned at the door and asked him, "What's your name?"

"Takahashi Rinke," he replied as the doors slid closed between us. I spun around to face the two I had followed.

"Alright, let's see what you've got," I said boredly. "Want to introduce yourselves or something? I'm all up for fancy speeches."

"I am Kouji!" said the blond.

"I am Akeno!" said the brunette.

"It's not like I'm going to remember," I interrupted. They bristled and I grinned.

"We are SEAMLESS! A smooth repetoire of spells that leave no flaw or hesitation!"

And the battle I'd been waiting two months for began.

--

AN: Well! That's another chapter! So fun to write! Now I've noticed that no one is reviewing! You can't fool me! I KNOW THAT I AM GETTING HITS! So preeeease review? Even if you don't like the story concept or don't think it's very good, please let me know! It's depressing to write things and to be met with absolute silence on the other end.


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